Content Production Apprentice
We here at Jellyvision are the proud parents of ALEX®, an interactive employee communications platform that happens to share some DNA (and a sense of humor) with the smash-hit trivia video game YOU DON’T KNOW JACK®, created by Jellyvision's founder. ALEX makes navigating tricky decisions—like choosing and using employee benefits or improving your financial wellness—easier, faster, and more helpful, not to mention entertaining. The success of the ALEX platform has exceeded our wildest dreams (except for the part right before we woke up where our mom was riding a giraffe), which is why we need talented folks like you to help us help ALEX take over the world… er… continue to grow and succeed.
THAT’S LOVELY, BUT WHAT’S THIS I HEAR ABOUT AN APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM?
We’re looking for a select group of apprentices for an extended apprenticeship program with our ALEX team to help deliver perfect, customized versions of our software to our awesome customers.
Before we get to the details, here’s a heads up: apprentices work to make sure that our existing content is presented as perfectly as possible, rather than producing brand-new creative work. So this is a great gig if you want to learn how software gets made, but might not be a perfect fit if you want to spend most of your day creating new content from scratch.
Length: The apprenticeship will start in June and wrap up in November before Thanksgiving. Only candidates who will be available for this entire period will be considered. Apprentices work 40 hours per week, Monday through Friday.
Who’s eligible: Any awesome folks who are looking for an excellent short-term opportunity in an entry-level position in a tech environment. Our apprentices are often recent college grads, or students graduating in May or June right before starting the program, but a college degree is not a requirement for this position.
What does the Jellyvision apprenticeship program offer?
- Competitive pay. Specifically, $600/week.
- The opportunity to work with the software tools and products that we’ve built in-house.
- The opportunity to contribute to Jellyvision’s award-winning interactive ALEX products through specific short-term assignments. You’ll be doing work that matters. You won’t be making copies all day, stuck in a back room filing papers, or fetching coffee—apprentices are valued members of the team.
- A comprehensive, month-long training program covering the complex world of health care benefits and Jellyvision’s in-house software.
- An environment voted one of Chicago’s best workplaces by Crain’s Chicago Business in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.We also were on Chicago Tribune’s Top Workplaces List in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. Lastly, Symplicity named us one of the Best Places to Work for Recent Grads in 2016 and 2017.
- Professional development support, mentoring, and feedback from members of Jellyvision’s award-winning staff.
- Experience in copyediting, introductory code, bug-busting, meeting deadlines, project management, and teamwork.
- Summer social events designed to give apprentices exposure to staff in other departments.
- Bottom line: the opportunity to do good work with great people.
OKAY, I COULD COME HANG OUT WITH YOU JELLYPEOPLE THIS SUMMER. WHAT ARE YOU SPECIFICALLY LOOKING FOR IN A PRODUCTION APPRENTICE?
During our very busy software implementation season, our production team delivers many customer-tailored versions of ALEX in a short period. Why so short? There’s a tiny window between when our customers design their employee benefits packages and when ALEX must be live online for those customers’ employees to use.
We make customer-specific versions by copyediting, formatting, building, and otherwise doing whatever it takes to get each customer’s ALEX experience just right. Production apprentices work on customer versions of ALEX and help keep the process running smoothly.
We’re looking for quick learners who can hit deadlines with amazing attention to detail and who understand that detail-heavy work involves discipline and planning. You’ll mostly be ensuring the accuracy, formatting, and general goodness of existing content, rather than producing brand-new creative work. To that end, we’re looking for folks who have:
- A love of problem-solving and an inquisitive, curious nature for learning new processes and in-house tools.
- Experience with copyediting, proofreading, technical writing, quality assurance, and a great eye for detail.
- The ability to communicate effectively and attentively in person and in writing with different people and teams, and provide timely and helpful information.
- Patience for doing routine tasks, and an interest in perfecting those tasks to make processes better for everyone.
- A proven ability to learn new software quickly, and a desire to keep learning throughout the apprenticeship.
- Experience collaborating with a team on great work, whether that’s building a website, creating a marketing strategy for a class project, or manning the trapeze at your local circus.
- Amazing organizational skills, a spirit of helpfulness, and a calm, can-do attitude.
I’M A DETAIL-ORIENTED, TECH-FRIENDLY HUMAN! BUT WHAT EXACTLY WOULD I BE DOING FOR JELLYVISION AS A PRODUCTION APPRENTICE?
- Learning the ins and outs of our tools and software—as well as health care benefits—in our extensive training program.
- Editing content and data for spelling, grammar, and style.
- Using project management software and standardized processes to track customer versions of ALEX as they go through building, editing, and publishing using our in-house content development tools.
- Investigating and helping fix bugs (technical problems in the software).
- Making sure customers’ features from last year look awesome in this year’s version, uploading new files when a bug is found, and otherwise helping with version control.
- Communicating technical issues in a human way to customer-facing teams.
- Assisting with projects that improve our products and processes.
ANYTHING ELSE? Yes. We share a commitment to excellence and a desire to work in a comfortable, friendly atmosphere, so we only hire kind, curious, motivated people who are willing to work hard. Our credo is a simple one: be helpful. And we think we can be most helpful if our workforce is as diverse in thought, perspective, and culture as the people who use our products. We are looking to add amazing folks to our team who will bring diversity across many lines, including race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity, sex, and country of origin.
SIGN ME UP! HOW DO I APPLY?
Send us a cover letter that clearly indicates:
- What you think you could contribute to Jellyvision as a Production Apprentice
- What you hope to get out of the apprenticeship
- Who you are. Really let your personality shine through your cover letter—be yourself! (We weigh them heavily, so take some time with it!)
- What year you are in school and when you plan to graduate (if applicable)
Also send us a resume that fills us in on your experience to date.
You will receive an auto-reply confirming that we've received your application.
Please know that every single application we receive is read by a real live human being. However, that kind of thoughtful review takes time, so it may take us a little while to get back to you (but we will, we promise). In the meantime, no follow up phone calls please. It’s not that we don’t love hearing from you. It’s just that time spent responding to follow ups could be spent… well… reading your application. Please rest assured that if you received a confirmation from Recruiting Robot, we’ve got your application, and will get back to you really soon. We hope you’ll understand!
If you still have pressing questions in the meantime, please feel free to check out our handy-dandy FAQ page.
Thanks for your interest in Jellyvision, and good luck